During medical procedures, the need often arises to measure distances of a relatively small size such as puncture depths, foreign object sizes, wound sizes, abscess sizes, and the like. Such dimensions are often necessary to gauge the level and type of care required for a patient. Moreover, this need is also becoming necessary for administrative purposes. For instance, proper and timely insurance remuneration can depend upon the accurate reporting of the details of a medical procedure including the dimensions of embedded objects, wounds, etc. Three typical such situations are illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. FIG. 1 illustrates a foreign object 10 in a patient's foot and FIG. 2 illustrates a foreign object 12 in a patient's nose, such foreign objects must be described in required written reports according to size, location, etc. and can require different treatment options depending on their size, depth, etc. FIG. 3A illustrates a facial laceration 3 and FIG. 3B illustrates the laceration following suturing. Both the overall wound size and the laceration description must include dimensional information for both medical and administrative purposes.
FIG. 4 illustrates a common damping tool (a hemostat) that is used in medical procedures to clamp and manipulate physiological structures as well as to grip, stabilize, and remove foreign objects embedded in a body. Unfortunately, a separate instrument is presently required to provide information with regard to distances such as in situ depth and/or size of an embedded foreign object, size of a wound, etc. While foreign objects can be measured following removal, in situ measurement is desirable to properly obtain not only the subdermal depth of the object but also to be sure that the entire object is removed via post-removal measurement confirmation.
In response to such medical needs and administrative requirements, suggestions have been put forth to include measuring devices in sterile procedure trays. While this would be of benefit, it would also increase the size and cost of sterile trays as well as the amount of waste associated with a procedure.
What are needed in the art are measuring devices that can be integrated with existing tools and in one particular embodiment, with medical tools.